Red Oni Blue Oni
by AzureSpider
Summary: My personal telling of Brooklyn's arrival in Feudal Japan, and his first encounter with a female Gargoyle named Katana...


Red Oni, Blue Oni

The scene came into full view as the flames of the Phoenix Gate dispersed and Brooklyn got to bear witness to the majestic buildings off in the distance, as well as the rolling green hills and the starry night sky. There even looked to be a beach past the buildings.

Brooklyn smiled. Wherever the Phoenix Gate had taken him, it was definitely a lot more scenic and calm then early Mediaeval Scotland. No soldiers, no Grimmorum, no _Demona_. Now that was an unpleasant experience, having to work with the gargoyle he hated the most…

He turned to his Gargoyle Beast, Fu-Dog, who was already prancing about playfully across the green fields. Brooklyn couldn't help but smile at that. It was clear from the way Fu-Dog wouldn't stop moving and the fact that he was frantically looking about left and right that he was just as confused about the current setting as Brooklyn was. Well, at the least the two of them were lost in some place nice for a change…

But of course, wherever this place was, it still wasn't his time, and that in turn got Brooklyn nervous. Would he ever get back to New York City in 1997? Already he had ended up in three different time periods, and now that almost two years had passed courtesy of all the time he had spent in Mediaeval China, he was in the process of despairing. He was nostalgic for New York's tall skyscrapers, bright lights, busy streets, and take-out food...

Brooklyn scolded himself for his despairing. He had to keep a level head. As hard as it was, he knew that worrying wouldn't solve anything, and he wouldn't be much of a second-in-command if he was still acting like a panic-stricken hatchling…

But it was hard he found, not thinking about New York and the clan he had left behind. Of Goliath, Hudson, his two brothers Broadway and Lexington, Angela, Elisa and her brother Derek…Brooklyn shook his head. He really had left a lot behind, and now the last thing he wanted to do was dwell on any of it. It was heartbreaking in a way, especially considering how he hadn't asked to go on any part of this little time-travelling odyssey…

Which in turn got him thinking about the Phoenix Gate itself. This was the third place it had sent him too, but more to the point it was on its own free will. Everything the Phoenix Gate had done to him it had done on its own, which was odd. According to Goliath, one had to speak the proper incantation to travel back in time, or forwards, should one desire. Brooklyn didn't know any Latin, and he hadn't said anything, and yet the Phoenix Gate had acted on its own, and now here Brooklyn was, in the middle of who knows where…or when, as the case may be.

But why? Brooklyn had certainly asked himself that several times now, but the answer always seemed to elude him. The fact that the Phoenix Gate had done all of this by itself certainly seemed to suggest that it was conscious, and therefore sentient. But why do this to him? Did it have some grand plan in mind for him? Or was it just a sadist…?

"AH!"

Brooklyn was shaken out of his thoughts by the scream and whipped around to see a man with black hair fastened into a top-knot, who also wore a white tunic and the oddest-looking pants Brooklyn had ever seen. He also had a sword of some kind in a scabbard…

"Oni!" The man shouted, fear painted all over his face.

Brooklyn couldn't understand what the man meant by "Oni" but took it to mean some kind of monster. He cursed himself for having stood still for so long. He really should have kept moving instead of stopping to ruminate and gawk at the scenery…Well, too late now. Already the man was drawing his sword and shouting "Oni!" over and over again, as well as other words that Brooklyn did not understand. It was time to go.

Running forward to grab Fu-Dog, Brooklyn extended his wings and glided away from the man with the sword with Fu-Dog in his arms. Unfortunately, not happy at having been abruptly scooped up, Fu-Dog started to struggle a bit, which made Brooklyn's escape flight a rather awkward one to say the least.

Still, the two managed to get far enough away from the man before Fu-Dog's continued fidgeting eventually forced Brooklyn to land. As he rose to his feet, Brooklyn looked around in every possible direction before deciding that he and Fu-Dog were safe for the time being. Breathing a sigh of relief, Brooklyn re-scanned the area, trying to get a better handle of his and Fu-Dog's current surroundings. They were now on lower ground, and Brooklyn could see that there was indeed a beach, only a short distance from where they were in fact.

Brooklyn looked up at the night sky. The moon was still fully out, which meant that he still had plenty of time to explore before having to worry about finding a safe place to hide for the morning…

Deciding to see what the beach was like, Brooklyn made his way there, with Fu-Dog dutifully following right behind. Upon coming to the beach, Brooklyn could see that staring it down was a large building that Brooklyn assumed to be some kind of temple, as it reminded him slightly of the ones he had seen in Mediaeval China, including the one he had found Fu-Dog in…

The doors started to open. Panicking, Brooklyn grabbed Fu-Dog and they hid behind a rock formation as a man came out of the building. He was a bald-headed man of solid build, with ornate robes, who looked out into the night sky and ever-moving tides with a stern gaze, as if he were searching for something. Brooklyn couldn't help but be left uneasy by that. Especially after the last man who saw him…

But as Brooklyn looked on, there was another man, and he was even more intimidating: he was clad in head-to-toe black armor of an unusual design, complete with large red rectangular shoulder-pieces, as well as hip-armor of a similar color. And most unnerving of all was the helmet, also black, and with a black faceplate resembling an angry-looking monster. Brooklyn recognized the kind of armor that this was: he had seen it on an old movie that he and Broadway had once seen together…he was a Samurai! That, in turn, told Brooklyn where he was.

"_I'm in Japan…"_

Taking the Samurai as his cue to turn around, Brooklyn was set to leave, when he heard screaming and sobbing. Turning back around, Brooklyn saw that the black-armored Samurai had brought up a struggling female prisoner who looked to Brooklyn to be no younger then 25. She was screaming and in tears, but this did not deter her captors in the least. She was just forced to the ground as the black-armored Samurai readied his katana, raising it over her neck…

Brooklyn instinctively roared in defiance at the atrocity he was about to witness. Freezing with his sword mere inches above the woman's neck, the samurai turned to face the source of the roar. Cursing himself for his impulsiveness but also knowing that he couldn't just stand by while these Samurai committed cold-blooded murder, Brooklyn leaped out from behind his hiding place and soared towards the Samurai, eyes glowing whitish blue and pupil-less as a sign of his now fierce determination. Behind him Fu-Dog charged forwards as well, and soon the two were right on top of the Samurai, who all the while were shouting what the other man had: "Oni! Oni!"

Brooklyn was soon upon the Samurai, with the un-armored one grabbing the woman and the black-armored one readying his katana. Eyeing it cautiously, Brooklyn pulled back before the Samurai could slash at his vulnerable wings. But Fu-Dog did not slow down. He pounced the Samurai before Brooklyn could stop him, and with one lightning fast slash of the Samurai's sword, Fu-Dog fell to the ground, bleeding freely from a long, deep cut left in his side.

"NO!"

Brooklyn roared in fury and charged the Samurai, all common sense leaving his mind. Moving out of the way of the Samurai's slash and following thrust, he rammed right into the Samurai as hard as he could, clawing at his armor and tearing his helmet off. The Samurai responded by slashing at his arm. Brooklyn roared once more and kicked the Samurai back, who only backed up a little and managed to leave another little cut on Brooklyn's left leg. Brooklyn backpedaled but then felt a hard strike to the back of the head from the other Samurai, who brandished in his hand his sword still in its scabbard. Throwing aside the screaming woman, the samurai took the sword out of its scabbard and closed in.

"Obiichan!" The black-armored Samurai shouted, holding up a hand. He silently motioned to the other Samurai and then motioned back to Brooklyn. Brooklyn, still enraged, staggering from the intense pain of the cuts he had suffered and also still worrying about Fu-Dog, couldn't make out what was going on, but the older Samurai backed away as the Black-armored one cleaned the blood off his katana and readied himself for another attack from Brooklyn.

Brooklyn for his part could still barely stand up, his head was throbbing, and he was already cursing himself for how reckless he had been, and how much he had underestimated the Samurai…

A large shadow suddenly swooped in, followed by several more, and the two Samurai began to shout "Oni!" once more, causing Brooklyn to realize that more Gargoyles had swooped in to attack the Samurai.

It all happened so fast. One Gargoyle, the largest by far, at least Goliath's size Brooklyn estimated, went after the black-armored Samurai while another Gargoyle, a tall, lanky yellow female with long black hair went to tend to Fu-Dog. Two more Gargoyles, one a pine green male with small horns and armor, and the other cerulean-skinned with long black hair fastened into a pony-tail of sorts and wearing leather greaves over his wrists, charged the older Samurai, who could only keep them at bay with his katana sword for so long before the other larger Gargoyle came in and grabbed his katana sword with one hand, breaking the blade off like it was but a twig. Panicking, the older Samurai retreated into the building.

Brooklyn, still looking to put up a fight, went after the Black Samurai again, careful to dodge the slashes of the katana as he went at him again. But the Samurai was disciplined. He evaded every swipe of Brooklyn's claws, and every swing of his mighty tail, replying then with strikes that only narrowly missed their target.

But then Brooklyn's head started to pound again, and he lost concentration, not to mention blood. Mercilessly taking advantage of this, the Samurai made a bold strike with his sword, leaving another cut. Brooklyn cried out in anger and pain and fell to his knees. The Samurai raised his katana over his head and prepared to deal the finishing blow when another Gargoyle swooped in and produced a sword that met the Samurai's own. Brooklyn looked up and even in his intense pain he was completely struck by what he saw:

She was a light blue gargoyle who was roughly his height, and with a beak just like his too. She had horns sprouting from her temples, majestic-looking wings, and long black hair capped with a top-knot. She wore over herself short yellow robes of some kind, with the sleeves disconnected from the part covering the rest of her body. She also wore on her side a scabbard.

The Samurai held the sword-lock for just a moment longer before breaking it and lashing out with a strike aimed at the female Gargoyle's neck. In a single fluid motion, she deftly deflected the strike and then parried a follow-up strike. Brooklyn just looked on in amazement as this female gargoyle traded blows with the Samurai.

The duel didn't last long however, before the large brick-colored Gargoyle with scars came and broke the Samurai's sword the same way he had snapped the last one in two. He stared the Samurai down with a look so fierce that the stoic warrior finally began to show visible signs of discomfort.

"Watashi wa kono akiru" The Gargoyle said in a deep and commanding voice that also reminded Brooklyn of Goliath. "Mama"

The Black armored Samurai took a hint and ran off, leaving the Gargoyles behind. By now, Brooklyn had forced himself up again, but now found himself surrounded by several fierce-looking Gargoyles, none of whom looked happy to see him.

"Baka" The large Gargoyle who Brooklyn presumed to be the leader said deeply. Brooklyn knew that he was talking to him but he didn't know what he meant. Brooklyn did the only thing he could:

"I…I don't understand you…I can't speak Japanese…"

"Then we'll call you a fool in your own language"

Brooklyn, taken off-guard, whipped around in shock to the source of a female voice and could see that it was the blue-skinned gargoyle who had saved him that had used English. He was flabbergasted.

"You…you speak English?"

"Yes, we speak whatever it is you call it. The light-skinned men who have come into this land use a similar-sounding speech. I have studied it and learned it."

"Convenient"

She raised an eyebrow

"What?"

Apparently she wasn't familiar with _all_ English words and expressions. Brooklyn shook his head.

"Nothing"

The large Gargoyle shook his head.

"Kare wa omotta sonogo dai bakadesu"

"What did he say?"

"He said that you are a bigger fool then he thought" the blue Gargoyle said with just a hint of irritation. Clearly she didn't like having to play translator.

Brooklyn felt himself growing weaker again.

"Argh…look, I'm in a lot of pain, that Samurai left a lot of cuts, and my Gargoyle Beast, he's—"

"Seriously injured, in no small part thanks to your recklessness" she said matter of factly as she walked over to him and tore off a part of her and another of the Gargoyle's robes to wrap around Brooklyn's cuts. Brooklyn winced a little but kept his mouth shut. He wasn't going to complain about getting help. The blue Gargoyle continued to speak as she did so: "He still lives, but only just. The sun is his only hope now"

"But its still night! The sun won't come up in time!"

"Yes it will. The night is dying. Amaterasu is coming, and sure enough, Tsukuyomi will leave as he always does. Your beast will live until then"

Brooklyn wasn't sure he appreciated having Fu-Dog be called a beast but kept quiet. The blue Gargoyle finished applying the bandages and then stood up fully again, extending a hand to help Brooklyn up when he continued to stagger.

"Thanks…who are you?"

"My name is Katana. And this is the Ishimura Clan"

Ishimura…Goliath had mentioned an Ishimura clan among the ones he had encountered while travelling the world. Looks like these Gargoyles were that clan's ancestors…

The larger brick-colored Gargoyle lumbered over to Brooklyn. Brooklyn had to look up to meet the Gargoyle's intense gaze, which reminded Brooklyn of the one Samurai…

"This is Kanabo. The leader of this clan" Katana explained. She pointed to each of the other Gargoyles in turn. "These are Naginata, the second, Yumi, Kanabo's mate, and Kusarigama"

Brooklyn eyed them all once more. All had stern, unforgiving expressions, dead silent, and unmoving physically and if Brooklyn had to guess, emotionally as well. He was beginning to get the feeling that they all saw him as an inferior. Of course, Katana did say that Kanabo thought he was a fool. Brooklyn wondered if Katana thought the same way…

He heard Fu-Dog moan. Brooklyn turned to see his ever-loyal Gargoyle beast weakly limp over to him, and suddenly all of Brooklyn's pain and injuries seemed completely irrelevant and inconsequential when he saw just how much pain Fu-Dog was clearly in. The poor creature could hardly stand up, and it seemed as if the makeshift bandages Yumi had made for him had no effect at all. Brooklyn turned away in agony.

"Its all my fault…"

"There is no time to wallow in sorrow" Katana said simply. "At any rate, Amaterasu is coming soon"

Kanabo nodded in agreement, suggesting to Brooklyn that he could understand English, but either didn't know enough to speak it or chose not to on purpose.

"Wareware wa tsuitachi no tame ni yasumu basho o mitsukeru hitsuyo go arimasu"

Before Brooklyn even had a chance to ask Katana replied simply:

"He says that we must find a place to rest for when Amaterasu comes"

Turning, the other Gargoyles began to leave, as one by one they all flew off to the same destination. Brooklyn looked on in confusion.

"Wait? Where are you going? What about me and Fu-Dog?"

Katana turned to him: "Follow us. There is no point staying here is there?"

Brooklyn considered. He was still weak, but he could still glide he was sure. He turned to see that Katana had already picked up Fu-Dog who made no attempt to resist. What choice did he have really? But he still wasn't sure…none of these Gargoyles seemed particularly friendly, and what was worse was that only Katana knew English, and her knowledge was limited. He would have to learn Japanese if he wanted to stick around…

Brooklyn felt like despairing again, and this time it was easy to do so. Still not home, lost in another hostile time period, injured, and with even the other Gargoyles coming off as unfriendly. What was he to do?

He thought about his clan again…of Broadway and Lexington…why did it have to be him that the Phoenix Gate sent on these damned missions?

Katana eyed him coolly, but as he looked on, her gaze slowly became more sympathetic as her eyes drifted to his many injuries.

"Well?"

There was nothing else for him to do. Maybe one day he would get back home, maybe not. But this had to be the last time that he dwelled on that. Because he was here now, in a different world. A place where he could not afford to think of anything but the present. And at the very least, there was one Gargoyle who he figured he could trust here…

"Alright Katana"

**Author's Note: And that's the end of that. I gotta say, I did a fair bit of research for this one. And no, I do not know Japenese, so my usage of it may not be perfect. For reference, thee are the words used and what they mean: **

**Baka-Idiot/Fool**

**Obiichan-Grandfather**

**Watashi wa kono akiru-I grow tired of this**

**Amaterasu Omikami and Tsukuyomi are the Gods of the Sun and the Moon respectively in Shintoism. It is said that Amaterasu became so angry with Tsukuyomi that she refused to look at him or be near him, and that whenever he came her way, she would leave, and vice versa. This is why night and day are never together.**

**The names of the other Ishimura clan members are all names of different Japanese weapons:**

**Kanabo: A vicious club often associated with Oni demons**

**Yumi: A bow used by Samurai**

**Naginata: A bladed polearm**

**Kusarigama: A chain whip with a sickle on one end**


End file.
